T.I.V5: A Different Kind Of Report- Part III

<===The Trans Iowa V5 Volunteers were awesome! Thank you guys and gals! You rock!!

Saturday Afternoon, May 2nd: So the afternoon was getting hot, breezy, and dusty. d.p. and I rolled along in The Dirty Blue Box and everything seemed pretty good. Then I got word that the audio was not coming through on Trans Iowa Radio. Bummer! I was without any way to rectify it, since it was all working from my end. I felt a bit frustrated about it, but what can a guy do?

We got to Checkpoint #2 with plenty of time to spare before it opened officially at 2:00pm. d.p. and I got some grub inside the convenience store, hung out with Oliver from Lincoln and a couple of other support folks. We had Matt Maxwell, a former T.I. vet ride over on his bicycle from the Ames area to help out here in LeGrand. He rolled in not long after we arrived, so d.p. and I decided to recon the Northwestern side of the loop and return to see how things were coming along.

That all went without a hitch except that we marked another dogleg in the course having learned earlier from the darkness that doglegs can be confusing, and this one would be passed by in the dark too, we figured. Once we marked it we were on our way.

We arrived back at Checkpoint#2 and racers were there shortly afterwards. The leaders were all inside grubbing out some food, others were just arriving, and the place was a hoppin'. This caused a bit of trouble. The convenience store had two employees working. One at the register and a young lady in back making pizzas. Well, the older lady came storming out, demanding guys move their bikes off the sidewalk and not to block the doorway, and on and on she went, waving her arms around and sounding authoritative.

Now I have been around Trans Iowa since day one, I have seen road group rides descend upon convenience stores, I have seen things like the BRR ride, RAGBRAI, and the RASH ride, and never....never have I seen a convenience store clerk shoo bicyclists away. Never! Why would they? It's big money to them. We figured a modest estimate of $500.00 was added to this place that day, but no. They didn't want us. Great. I suppose this would go on till 7pm until we were all gone. I was a bit worried, but d.p. and I couldn't stay for the outcome. We were moving on.

After picking the course back up after Checkpoint #2 where we left off, we drove on into Traer. Along the way, we were getting DNF reports from riders and the numbers of drops was stacking up. It wasn't hard to see that Checkpoint #2 was where all the DNF action was going to be centered around.

About this time we received a phone call from one of the volunteers giving us some info on a "lost soul". Apparently our cheeky gal from Friday night that snatched her chance at getting into T.I.V5 was off course. Like waaaay off course. Apparently she was reading the cue sheets incorrectly and was on the correct road on the cue sheet, but couldn't find the next turn. Our volunteers were out for a leisurely road ride and happened upon her. Fortunately, one of them had a smart phone with Google maps. After a bit of confusion, it was determined she was 50 miles off course on a road with the same name as the one she should have been on far westward of her position. Needless to say, she was done at that point!


<====Things that make you go "Hmmm......" And that's all I'm going to say about that!

So we had a bit of a conundrum outside of Traer on just how to mark that turn before going into town. The street sign wasn't correct, and so we co-opted a sign that was there that said "Road Closed" and pasted a sign on it and used some red duct tape to name the road with. I guess it worked okay. d.p. and I recalled that we had done the same thing in T.I.V4 as well. Gotta be resouceful!



<===Making do with what we had!

We arrived at the Checkpoint in Traer and no one else was there yet. I got a text from a volunteer that said Trans Iowa Radio was still not working, so I decided I'd give it one more try. I gave it a half hearted attempt, thinking it wouldn't come out anyway. After I did it, a text came through just minutes later. "It worked!!" it said. Then folks thought I was about ready to die of exhaustion when they heard it, but in reality, it was frustration they were hearing. The next post, I was back to the old self.

Next: Hanging out in Traer and being bad boys!

T.I.V5: A Different Kind Of Report- Part III

<===The Trans Iowa V5 Volunteers were awesome! Thank you guys and gals! You rock!!

Saturday Afternoon, May 2nd: So the afternoon was getting hot, breezy, and dusty. d.p. and I rolled along in The Dirty Blue Box and everything seemed pretty good. Then I got word that the audio was not coming through on Trans Iowa Radio. Bummer! I was without any way to rectify it, since it was all working from my end. I felt a bit frustrated about it, but what can a guy do?

We got to Checkpoint #2 with plenty of time to spare before it opened officially at 2:00pm. d.p. and I got some grub inside the convenience store, hung out with Oliver from Lincoln and a couple of other support folks. We had Matt Maxwell, a former T.I. vet ride over on his bicycle from the Ames area to help out here in LeGrand. He rolled in not long after we arrived, so d.p. and I decided to recon the Northwestern side of the loop and return to see how things were coming along.

That all went without a hitch except that we marked another dogleg in the course having learned earlier from the darkness that doglegs can be confusing, and this one would be passed by in the dark too, we figured. Once we marked it we were on our way.

We arrived back at Checkpoint#2 and racers were there shortly afterwards. The leaders were all inside grubbing out some food, others were just arriving, and the place was a hoppin'. This caused a bit of trouble. The convenience store had two employees working. One at the register and a young lady in back making pizzas. Well, the older lady came storming out, demanding guys move their bikes off the sidewalk and not to block the doorway, and on and on she went, waving her arms around and sounding authoritative.

Now I have been around Trans Iowa since day one, I have seen road group rides descend upon convenience stores, I have seen things like the BRR ride, RAGBRAI, and the RASH ride, and never....never have I seen a convenience store clerk shoo bicyclists away. Never! Why would they? It's big money to them. We figured a modest estimate of $500.00 was added to this place that day, but no. They didn't want us. Great. I suppose this would go on till 7pm until we were all gone. I was a bit worried, but d.p. and I couldn't stay for the outcome. We were moving on.

After picking the course back up after Checkpoint #2 where we left off, we drove on into Traer. Along the way, we were getting DNF reports from riders and the numbers of drops was stacking up. It wasn't hard to see that Checkpoint #2 was where all the DNF action was going to be centered around.

About this time we received a phone call from one of the volunteers giving us some info on a "lost soul". Apparently our cheeky gal from Friday night that snatched her chance at getting into T.I.V5 was off course. Like waaaay off course. Apparently she was reading the cue sheets incorrectly and was on the correct road on the cue sheet, but couldn't find the next turn. Our volunteers were out for a leisurely road ride and happened upon her. Fortunately, one of them had a smart phone with Google maps. After a bit of confusion, it was determined she was 50 miles off course on a road with the same name as the one she should have been on far westward of her position. Needless to say, she was done at that point!


<====Things that make you go "Hmmm......" And that's all I'm going to say about that!

So we had a bit of a conundrum outside of Traer on just how to mark that turn before going into town. The street sign wasn't correct, and so we co-opted a sign that was there that said "Road Closed" and pasted a sign on it and used some red duct tape to name the road with. I guess it worked okay. d.p. and I recalled that we had done the same thing in T.I.V4 as well. Gotta be resouceful!



<===Making do with what we had!

We arrived at the Checkpoint in Traer and no one else was there yet. I got a text from a volunteer that said Trans Iowa Radio was still not working, so I decided I'd give it one more try. I gave it a half hearted attempt, thinking it wouldn't come out anyway. After I did it, a text came through just minutes later. "It worked!!" it said. Then folks thought I was about ready to die of exhaustion when they heard it, but in reality, it was frustration they were hearing. The next post, I was back to the old self.

Next: Hanging out in Traer and being bad boys!

T.I.V5: A Different Kind Of Report- Part II

<===The scene at the start line. (Photo: Cornbread)

We were supposed to get up by 2:30am and head out to the start line in Williamsburg from Marengo. d.p. woke up at 2am to take a shower, so I woke up as well. Brother Mark and Daryl took a bit longer, but we were all on our way to the start on time. I had a full tank of gas that I purchased in Marengo and was raring to go.

The start was deserted when we got there, but after about ten minutes, and some ham shots of David Nice, who came along with us, we saw a twinkling light come up the road. Soon that turned into mini-streams of light and reflective clothing until the whole area around the cemetery where we started began to look like the stars had fallen to the earth. I gave a bit of a talk on dogs and the usual blather before I hopped into the Dirty Blue Box and honked the horn to get a move on. I looked over at d.p, and said, "Well, this beast is on the road!" He just said "yep" and smiled.

The mode of operation we employ, which really hasn't changed since T.I.V1, is to follow the same cues the racers have and to make sure there are no wrong turns, confusing spots, or roads that are impassable. So d.p. read the cues and I drove. We were heading due south at the time and just 11 or 12 miles into the event. d.p. was nose down in the map when I said "T intersection, which way do we go?" d.p. looked up and said "Oh s#i@!" I said, "What?" (Thinking , Oh no! Not again this year!") Well, it turned out that d.p. had always reconned this section in the light of day, when the dogleg in the south bound road was obvious. Not so in the dark! After a bit of confusion we got marshaled and grabbed the tape, lathe boards and signs. Hammer......where's the dang hammer? Oh yeah! I lent it to the Checkpoint #1 volunteers so they could hang the Hammer Nutrition banner. Crap! How am I going to pound in these stakes?



<===Racing towards the first sunrise in Trans Iowa V5. Photo: Cornbread

With apologies to eventual race winner Joe Meiser, I admit that I took some liberties with the trophy! I found it laying in the back of the Dirty Blue Box and used it, cave man style, to pound in my stakes. Works like a charm, in case you ever wonder Joe!

d.p. found an ingenious use for duct tape and stuck directional arrows right on the road. We were just finishing up when d.p. yelled, "Here they come!" I turned to see the lead pack motoring towards us at a pretty good clip. d.p. figured they were holding a 24mph average speed over the opening miles. That got me a bit worried, so we sped off and I prayed we'd have no more directional snafus.

Fortunately, we didn't. We found ourselves in Washington, Iowa and located our spot with the volunteers there. We were to have Cafe' Dodicci's opening soon, and the prospects of a hot cup o java were appealing. As soon as they opened the doors, d.p. and I walked in and bought our steaming cups of black goodness. And I mean it was good! Best coffee I've had in a long time!

We wished the lady at the counter good luck and hoped that they would see a benefit to our coming through there, since they opened three hours early for us! Later I found out that they had indeed fared well, and that our racers stopped by and purchased some good stuff. All worked out well there seemingly.

Anyway, it wasn't long before a huge lead group swarmed into the checkpoint. Gladly I witnessed our volunteers do such a great job that the racers were through and fiddling with the new cue sheets before they could catch their breath. It was awesome and a relief to my mind, as this was one of my concerns going into the event.

Now we were headed out of town and we saw that the smaller lead group had escaped up the road with chasers strung out behind. A decisive move? Hard to tell, but early break aways tend to stay out in Trans Iowa events since organized chases never happen. At least not involving large numbers of riders.

So we checked out the roads going into North English. The first B road was muddy, but I almost got all the way through it. I could have made it too, but d.p. was advising caution, and I decided that stunts with the Dirty Blue Box were ill advised at this point. So I back tracked and went around it. Soon we were in North English on a bright, sunny, and quickly warming day.

We were there a good 45 minutes before we saw two riders coming in. Charlie Farrow and.......Joe Meiser? Yep! Joe Meiser. I figured him to be a contender, but to be up the road on a two man breakaway? Hmm.....seemed risky. Anyway, I was plying Joe for some race info when he mentioned a tree down in a B road section. Brains addled by lack of oxygen, he said something about it falling, as if it fell while they were riding by. I was extremely concerned, because something was also mentioned by Charlie that Charly Tri had fallen and broken something. Something what? Was the "tree" down on the B road Charly "Tri" or was it a real tree? Well, you can't get into a racers face while they are in the heat of competition, but I pressed Joe for a clear answer when a screaming mad man rolls up on a black bike.

The guy was screaming at Charlie Farrow, "Lets go! Let's go!" He peeled a banana with one swift motion, inhaled it in a millisecond, and started right in screaming again, "Let's go! C'mon! Now!" Charlie offered some water, but the mad man in black would have none of it. Soon Dave Pramann came out and sensing something was up, hopped on his bike straight away and took off with the tall, thin, black clad man. Charlie took one last glance at the water and turned and hopped on his green Kelly cross rig and was away. Joe Meiser chased on by the end of the parking lot. And then it was peaceful........for a minute or two! And I never did find out about the "tree".

Soon other chasers were showing up. We decided to split and get ahead of the main four leaders and try to find out who that screaming black fellow was. As it turned out, it was Tim Ek, who had fallen way back when he flatted earlier. He chased on with a huge effort and caught the leaders at the North English convenience store. He told me later that the adrenaline just made him crazy, and that he normally wasn't that way. Sounds fair enough. At any rate, these guys were getting a sizable lead up the road now, and the hills were just kicking in.



<====Checking out more B roads

d.p. and I continued checking the course. I made occasional Trans Iowa Radio broadcasts. We checked B roads, and drove about 35 to 40mph all the way to the Checkpoint #2 in LeGrand, Iowa.

Things were going smoothly. Too smoothly I thought. When was the hammer going to fall? I didn't know, but this T.I. was almost too easy so far.

Next time: Going into Checkpoint #2 and hanging out a bit.

T.I.V5: A Different Kind Of Report- Part II

<===The scene at the start line. (Photo: Cornbread)

We were supposed to get up by 2:30am and head out to the start line in Williamsburg from Marengo. d.p. woke up at 2am to take a shower, so I woke up as well. Brother Mark and Daryl took a bit longer, but we were all on our way to the start on time. I had a full tank of gas that I purchased in Marengo and was raring to go.

The start was deserted when we got there, but after about ten minutes, and some ham shots of David Nice, who came along with us, we saw a twinkling light come up the road. Soon that turned into mini-streams of light and reflective clothing until the whole area around the cemetery where we started began to look like the stars had fallen to the earth. I gave a bit of a talk on dogs and the usual blather before I hopped into the Dirty Blue Box and honked the horn to get a move on. I looked over at d.p, and said, "Well, this beast is on the road!" He just said "yep" and smiled.

The mode of operation we employ, which really hasn't changed since T.I.V1, is to follow the same cues the racers have and to make sure there are no wrong turns, confusing spots, or roads that are impassable. So d.p. read the cues and I drove. We were heading due south at the time and just 11 or 12 miles into the event. d.p. was nose down in the map when I said "T intersection, which way do we go?" d.p. looked up and said "Oh s#i@!" I said, "What?" (Thinking , Oh no! Not again this year!") Well, it turned out that d.p. had always reconned this section in the light of day, when the dogleg in the south bound road was obvious. Not so in the dark! After a bit of confusion we got marshaled and grabbed the tape, lathe boards and signs. Hammer......where's the dang hammer? Oh yeah! I lent it to the Checkpoint #1 volunteers so they could hang the Hammer Nutrition banner. Crap! How am I going to pound in these stakes?



<===Racing towards the first sunrise in Trans Iowa V5. Photo: Cornbread

With apologies to eventual race winner Joe Meiser, I admit that I took some liberties with the trophy! I found it laying in the back of the Dirty Blue Box and used it, cave man style, to pound in my stakes. Works like a charm, in case you ever wonder Joe!

d.p. found an ingenious use for duct tape and stuck directional arrows right on the road. We were just finishing up when d.p. yelled, "Here they come!" I turned to see the lead pack motoring towards us at a pretty good clip. d.p. figured they were holding a 24mph average speed over the opening miles. That got me a bit worried, so we sped off and I prayed we'd have no more directional snafus.

Fortunately, we didn't. We found ourselves in Washington, Iowa and located our spot with the volunteers there. We were to have Cafe' Dodicci's opening soon, and the prospects of a hot cup o java were appealing. As soon as they opened the doors, d.p. and I walked in and bought our steaming cups of black goodness. And I mean it was good! Best coffee I've had in a long time!

We wished the lady at the counter good luck and hoped that they would see a benefit to our coming through there, since they opened three hours early for us! Later I found out that they had indeed fared well, and that our racers stopped by and purchased some good stuff. All worked out well there seemingly.

Anyway, it wasn't long before a huge lead group swarmed into the checkpoint. Gladly I witnessed our volunteers do such a great job that the racers were through and fiddling with the new cue sheets before they could catch their breath. It was awesome and a relief to my mind, as this was one of my concerns going into the event.

Now we were headed out of town and we saw that the smaller lead group had escaped up the road with chasers strung out behind. A decisive move? Hard to tell, but early break aways tend to stay out in Trans Iowa events since organized chases never happen. At least not involving large numbers of riders.

So we checked out the roads going into North English. The first B road was muddy, but I almost got all the way through it. I could have made it too, but d.p. was advising caution, and I decided that stunts with the Dirty Blue Box were ill advised at this point. So I back tracked and went around it. Soon we were in North English on a bright, sunny, and quickly warming day.

We were there a good 45 minutes before we saw two riders coming in. Charlie Farrow and.......Joe Meiser? Yep! Joe Meiser. I figured him to be a contender, but to be up the road on a two man breakaway? Hmm.....seemed risky. Anyway, I was plying Joe for some race info when he mentioned a tree down in a B road section. Brains addled by lack of oxygen, he said something about it falling, as if it fell while they were riding by. I was extremely concerned, because something was also mentioned by Charlie that Charly Tri had fallen and broken something. Something what? Was the "tree" down on the B road Charly "Tri" or was it a real tree? Well, you can't get into a racers face while they are in the heat of competition, but I pressed Joe for a clear answer when a screaming mad man rolls up on a black bike.

The guy was screaming at Charlie Farrow, "Lets go! Let's go!" He peeled a banana with one swift motion, inhaled it in a millisecond, and started right in screaming again, "Let's go! C'mon! Now!" Charlie offered some water, but the mad man in black would have none of it. Soon Dave Pramann came out and sensing something was up, hopped on his bike straight away and took off with the tall, thin, black clad man. Charlie took one last glance at the water and turned and hopped on his green Kelly cross rig and was away. Joe Meiser chased on by the end of the parking lot. And then it was peaceful........for a minute or two! And I never did find out about the "tree".

Soon other chasers were showing up. We decided to split and get ahead of the main four leaders and try to find out who that screaming black fellow was. As it turned out, it was Tim Ek, who had fallen way back when he flatted earlier. He chased on with a huge effort and caught the leaders at the North English convenience store. He told me later that the adrenaline just made him crazy, and that he normally wasn't that way. Sounds fair enough. At any rate, these guys were getting a sizable lead up the road now, and the hills were just kicking in.



<====Checking out more B roads

d.p. and I continued checking the course. I made occasional Trans Iowa Radio broadcasts. We checked B roads, and drove about 35 to 40mph all the way to the Checkpoint #2 in LeGrand, Iowa.

Things were going smoothly. Too smoothly I thought. When was the hammer going to fall? I didn't know, but this T.I. was almost too easy so far.

Next time: Going into Checkpoint #2 and hanging out a bit.

T.I.V5: A Different Kind Of Report- Part I

<===Daryl Pals, a volunteer, checks out The Dirty Blue Box at the start line of T.I.V5

Look, I could give you all the race report you expect, a total rundown of all the racing action, but honestly, that is being done in a much better manner by actual racers from the event. Go figure!

So why should I rehash it. I won't. I will give you my race report. Which begins far before the pre-race meeting, but I'll start out with Friday morning, just to cut to the chase here.

Friday, May 1st: Well, as a Trans Iowa promoter organizer for the past five events, I can tell you that if your ducks are not in a row by now, they ain't never gonna be! I got up with most of my stuff pre-packed. Of course, I have "another life" as a father and a husband, so I attended to that in the morning. After dropping off my two young ones at school, I was free to get down to Trans Iowa business.

First order of business was to load up the Dirty Blue Box with all the sponsors goodies we received. This had been stored down in the "Guitar Ted Laboratories" basement for safe keeping. Carefully hauling up stuff and packing it with care took a bit of time. Going over the supplies list, double checking the things I needed, and then worrying about what I was forgetting took a bit, but eventually I pulled out at 9:14 am to set off for the T.I.V5 course and see how things were looking.

I went to the furthest northwestern reaches of the course and stopped along some B roads and checked out some of the route along the way to Checkpoint #3. I was relatively pleased. I thought things looked a bit wet, but okay to race on. Then I had to high tail it over on Highway 30 to meet up with d.p. and David Nice to have lunch. It seems that everytime I go to Marengo I eat at Doose's Cafe'. That's not a bad thing, just a sort of odd thing. Dave Nice seemed in good spirits, and d.p. was anxious like I was to get the ball rolling on this event. Brother Mark showed up soon and we were having a good time. There was the matter of getting ready for the pre-race meeting though, so we headed over to d.p.'s house to get things set up with the race bags.

<===Looking like some evil pizza delivery car ready to lay on the pain!

The race bags were graciously supplied by World Of Bikes and were actually paper bags as opposed to the traditional plastic ones. Cool! Soon we had all the goods lined up inside and an assembly line set up. Loading up the 52 bags and the extras for volunteers took almost no time. soon we were finding ourselves standing around yakking and looking at our watches. Wow! We were actually ahead of schedule. It just seemed to be almost too smooth.

d.p. broke out the beers and we took it easy for a bit. A trip was made to the "lower level" of the d.p. residence to scope out d.p.'s new Teesdale track bike. What a sweet ride. Then it was time to think about going. d.p.'s dad, Daryl showed up, and then it was load up and head out to Williamsburg time.

When we arrived, an hour early, there were already racers waiting. We were all smiling at each other. Apparently, we weren't the only ones itching to get on with this thing. Loaded out the Dirty Blue Box's contents and set up some chairs. The volunteers were some of the first to wander up to the second level room. Soon racers started coming in. Familiar faces, old friends, and new acquaintances. It was getting on about 5:30pm and the meeting room was filling up. Time to get my thoughts together for the pre-race meeting.

Since d.p. did about half the work, and I didn't worry about it, or even think to ask about it, having 100% trust in his judgements, I was found to be a bit lacking in answers to the first three questions asked. Of course, d.p. was out retrieving something I had forgotten when the questions were asked. Great! Well, I don't mind looking foolish. I have for most of my life anyway, so it wasn't any big deal. The rest of the meeting went off without a hitch and riders were introduced and picked up their race packets.

Now normally we have at least 10 no-shows at Trans Iowa pre-race meetings. Sometimes more. I have been harping on folks to not pull that stunt, and ya know what? The racers listened, because we had a record of only one no-show. Awesome! And even that effort to fill the race bag wasn't in vein.

Going back to the previous Monday, a certain female had contacted me wanting in T.I.V5. I politely said no, it was too late. We wouldn't have excess cue sheets unless there were no-shows. Well, the women persisted, sending me another e-mail, which I ignored, and even called the shop, but I was gone at the time. Now I could be wrong about the following, but I bet I'm near to the mark here.

She was friends with another legit T.I.V5 entrant. She traveled down with said person and attended the pre-race meeting. When I came upon the one and only person not showing, and had announced his name thrice before attempting to move along, she jumped up and claimed that the no-show had transferred the spot to her.

Yeah......riiight.

I figured that the move was so cheeky it deserved to be rewarded. Kind of like the essay answer so full of glorious "B.S." that the professor gives it a passing grade. Well, I figured "why not", and consented to her. She immediately made an about face, grabbed the bag and disappeared. Hrumpf! Some thanks! Anyway, it was kind of cool to have a female in the event, as we are still wanting a finisher, or at least a contender to finish, of the opposite sex to undertake the Trans Iowa challenge.

So, we loaded out, and made plans to get some grub. On a trip out to the Dirty Blue Box, I said an off hand remark to some of the Lincolnites about being my own roadie, or something to that effect. Well, that was all it took for them to marshall some of the other Lincoln Crew and give me a hand hauling stuff. Much appreciated guys! You are all gold. Pure gold!

We hit up the"Pizza Haus" and got some grub along with some of the other racers. Later, we headed back to crash at d.p.'s house, but not before a night cap of Stranahan's was had. Then it was off to bed and an early wake up call.

Next: The race starts........finally!

T.I.V5: A Different Kind Of Report- Part I

<===Daryl Pals, a volunteer, checks out The Dirty Blue Box at the start line of T.I.V5

Look, I could give you all the race report you expect, a total rundown of all the racing action, but honestly, that is being done in a much better manner by actual racers from the event. Go figure!

So why should I rehash it. I won't. I will give you my race report. Which begins far before the pre-race meeting, but I'll start out with Friday morning, just to cut to the chase here.

Friday, May 1st: Well, as a Trans Iowa promoter organizer for the past five events, I can tell you that if your ducks are not in a row by now, they ain't never gonna be! I got up with most of my stuff pre-packed. Of course, I have "another life" as a father and a husband, so I attended to that in the morning. After dropping off my two young ones at school, I was free to get down to Trans Iowa business.

First order of business was to load up the Dirty Blue Box with all the sponsors goodies we received. This had been stored down in the "Guitar Ted Laboratories" basement for safe keeping. Carefully hauling up stuff and packing it with care took a bit of time. Going over the supplies list, double checking the things I needed, and then worrying about what I was forgetting took a bit, but eventually I pulled out at 9:14 am to set off for the T.I.V5 course and see how things were looking.

I went to the furthest northwestern reaches of the course and stopped along some B roads and checked out some of the route along the way to Checkpoint #3. I was relatively pleased. I thought things looked a bit wet, but okay to race on. Then I had to high tail it over on Highway 30 to meet up with d.p. and David Nice to have lunch. It seems that everytime I go to Marengo I eat at Doose's Cafe'. That's not a bad thing, just a sort of odd thing. Dave Nice seemed in good spirits, and d.p. was anxious like I was to get the ball rolling on this event. Brother Mark showed up soon and we were having a good time. There was the matter of getting ready for the pre-race meeting though, so we headed over to d.p.'s house to get things set up with the race bags.

<===Looking like some evil pizza delivery car ready to lay on the pain!

The race bags were graciously supplied by World Of Bikes and were actually paper bags as opposed to the traditional plastic ones. Cool! Soon we had all the goods lined up inside and an assembly line set up. Loading up the 52 bags and the extras for volunteers took almost no time. soon we were finding ourselves standing around yakking and looking at our watches. Wow! We were actually ahead of schedule. It just seemed to be almost too smooth.

d.p. broke out the beers and we took it easy for a bit. A trip was made to the "lower level" of the d.p. residence to scope out d.p.'s new Teesdale track bike. What a sweet ride. Then it was time to think about going. d.p.'s dad, Daryl showed up, and then it was load up and head out to Williamsburg time.

When we arrived, an hour early, there were already racers waiting. We were all smiling at each other. Apparently, we weren't the only ones itching to get on with this thing. Loaded out the Dirty Blue Box's contents and set up some chairs. The volunteers were some of the first to wander up to the second level room. Soon racers started coming in. Familiar faces, old friends, and new acquaintances. It was getting on about 5:30pm and the meeting room was filling up. Time to get my thoughts together for the pre-race meeting.

Since d.p. did about half the work, and I didn't worry about it, or even think to ask about it, having 100% trust in his judgements, I was found to be a bit lacking in answers to the first three questions asked. Of course, d.p. was out retrieving something I had forgotten when the questions were asked. Great! Well, I don't mind looking foolish. I have for most of my life anyway, so it wasn't any big deal. The rest of the meeting went off without a hitch and riders were introduced and picked up their race packets.

Now normally we have at least 10 no-shows at Trans Iowa pre-race meetings. Sometimes more. I have been harping on folks to not pull that stunt, and ya know what? The racers listened, because we had a record of only one no-show. Awesome! And even that effort to fill the race bag wasn't in vein.

Going back to the previous Monday, a certain female had contacted me wanting in T.I.V5. I politely said no, it was too late. We wouldn't have excess cue sheets unless there were no-shows. Well, the women persisted, sending me another e-mail, which I ignored, and even called the shop, but I was gone at the time. Now I could be wrong about the following, but I bet I'm near to the mark here.

She was friends with another legit T.I.V5 entrant. She traveled down with said person and attended the pre-race meeting. When I came upon the one and only person not showing, and had announced his name thrice before attempting to move along, she jumped up and claimed that the no-show had transferred the spot to her.

Yeah......riiight.

I figured that the move was so cheeky it deserved to be rewarded. Kind of like the essay answer so full of glorious "B.S." that the professor gives it a passing grade. Well, I figured "why not", and consented to her. She immediately made an about face, grabbed the bag and disappeared. Hrumpf! Some thanks! Anyway, it was kind of cool to have a female in the event, as we are still wanting a finisher, or at least a contender to finish, of the opposite sex to undertake the Trans Iowa challenge.

So, we loaded out, and made plans to get some grub. On a trip out to the Dirty Blue Box, I said an off hand remark to some of the Lincolnites about being my own roadie, or something to that effect. Well, that was all it took for them to marshall some of the other Lincoln Crew and give me a hand hauling stuff. Much appreciated guys! You are all gold. Pure gold!

We hit up the"Pizza Haus" and got some grub along with some of the other racers. Later, we headed back to crash at d.p.'s house, but not before a night cap of Stranahan's was had. Then it was off to bed and an early wake up call.

Next: The race starts........finally!

Touring Tuesdays: The Race Against Death Tour- Day One- Onward Through The Fog!

The "Race Against Death Tour" sets sail in foggy conditions from Cedar Falls, Iowa.......

August 7th: Cedar Falls, Iowa- 6:30am: The tour was set to begin. It was seemingly overcast, humid, and coolish. Everything was drippy with this weather. It seemed surreal, and yet somehow very appropriate. Since this was such a huge undertaking, the fog sort of represented the walking into the unknown. The ends couldn't be seen, nor imagined, since we hadn't a clue just how it would all play out, even though Troy and I had done the tour the year before.

All along, Tim had been thinking he might come along, but as he showed up that morning with his bike unloaded, we didn't need to ask what his decision had been. We all took off down familiar westward leading blacktops. Tim was coming along just for awhile as a send off. We reached the black top leading south out of Dike, Iowa, and Tim bade us farewell with tears in his eyes. It was rather uncomfortable, but as soon as he turned around, the fog enveloped him and his bike, and it was as if it were a dream that he had even been there.

The fog was super thick, and Troy was concerned. We double checked that our "blinkie" lights were on, but still Troy was not comfortable with riding in such thick fog. His response was to ride harder. So we were almost left behind and Ryan and I had no time to think about cars or fog.

It wasn't long before the sun sent the fog packing and a normal, hot, humid August day was in the making. The wind was a non-factor. In fact, we wished for some wind. At least it may have felt cooler. But with or without the wind, it didn't really matter. We were on the road, and we were excited to be riding into an adventure.

Along about 60 miles in, we were met with a conundrum as to which road to take. I had chosen a blacktop, but due to the construction of a four lane highway, things were different than my map showed. Troy didn't like the thought of going too far out of our way, because we needed to log big miles westward, not wandering around looking for a black top that took us out of our way. So he insisted we get on an open chunk of the four lane and ride it. I wasn't too keen on this, but it turned out okay.

Ryan was pretty quiet this first day. I think he was just figuring it all out, how to fit in and just how to ride this loaded beast of a bike. I can still see him whipping his arm out with flair, reaching for the down tube shifter, making his selection, and whipping his arm back flamboyantly as he pedaled along. It was a signature move he employed every time he shifted his derailleur.

Troy was off on the front, as usual. Not to be denied this objective, he was serious and was working hard to keep our average speed up above what we needed to make it. By the time we reached I-35, he was pleased and said as much. He was a bit more relaxed after that, and that was a relief to Ryan and I, as it was cooking our gooses to ride at Troy's infernal pace.

Things were slower paced after that and fairly uneventful. Things got a wee bit tense going through Fort Dodge, Iowa due to traffic and route finding. The crossing of the Des Moines River was a doozy! That climb out of the river valley had me off the bike and walking in the heat.

Due to the extra time getting through Fort Dodge, we didn't feel too great about the afternoon's mileage. Troy pounded out a furious pace as we set off for a little town west of there called Barnum. It was blazing hot and we were roasting in the late afternoon sunlight. Troy thought about bypassing Barnum because it was off the highway a bit, but he relented and we got to pack it in for the day. It was great to have the thoughts of sleep and rest that would come none too soon!

Well, at least I thought it would come. We had done 120 miles that day, and I figured after some chow, we would get some quick sleep. Not too fast there, partner! It was not quite that way! First, the park we were in was about the size of someones small back yard. We didn't have any facilities, and the heat was oppressive! No wind, humid, and mosquitoes were everywhere! We thought we'd just set up our sleeping bags on the picnic tables, but the insects wouldn't allow it. They were eating us alive!

So, we all had to get up and set up the tent in the dark. The thoughts of sleeping in that tent were not good, as it was so still and hot yet. Any enclosure would only make it worse. But those mosquitoes!

So we got a fitful nights sleep from Day #1. Hopefully we could pull off another big day. Tuesday was going to be a bit tougher though.............

Next Week: Day Two- Hamburgers and Heat

Touring Tuesdays: The Race Against Death Tour- Day One- Onward Through The Fog!

The "Race Against Death Tour" sets sail in foggy conditions from Cedar Falls, Iowa.......

August 7th: Cedar Falls, Iowa- 6:30am: The tour was set to begin. It was seemingly overcast, humid, and coolish. Everything was drippy with this weather. It seemed surreal, and yet somehow very appropriate. Since this was such a huge undertaking, the fog sort of represented the walking into the unknown. The ends couldn't be seen, nor imagined, since we hadn't a clue just how it would all play out, even though Troy and I had done the tour the year before.

All along, Tim had been thinking he might come along, but as he showed up that morning with his bike unloaded, we didn't need to ask what his decision had been. We all took off down familiar westward leading blacktops. Tim was coming along just for awhile as a send off. We reached the black top leading south out of Dike, Iowa, and Tim bade us farewell with tears in his eyes. It was rather uncomfortable, but as soon as he turned around, the fog enveloped him and his bike, and it was as if it were a dream that he had even been there.

The fog was super thick, and Troy was concerned. We double checked that our "blinkie" lights were on, but still Troy was not comfortable with riding in such thick fog. His response was to ride harder. So we were almost left behind and Ryan and I had no time to think about cars or fog.

It wasn't long before the sun sent the fog packing and a normal, hot, humid August day was in the making. The wind was a non-factor. In fact, we wished for some wind. At least it may have felt cooler. But with or without the wind, it didn't really matter. We were on the road, and we were excited to be riding into an adventure.

Along about 60 miles in, we were met with a conundrum as to which road to take. I had chosen a blacktop, but due to the construction of a four lane highway, things were different than my map showed. Troy didn't like the thought of going too far out of our way, because we needed to log big miles westward, not wandering around looking for a black top that took us out of our way. So he insisted we get on an open chunk of the four lane and ride it. I wasn't too keen on this, but it turned out okay.

Ryan was pretty quiet this first day. I think he was just figuring it all out, how to fit in and just how to ride this loaded beast of a bike. I can still see him whipping his arm out with flair, reaching for the down tube shifter, making his selection, and whipping his arm back flamboyantly as he pedaled along. It was a signature move he employed every time he shifted his derailleur.

Troy was off on the front, as usual. Not to be denied this objective, he was serious and was working hard to keep our average speed up above what we needed to make it. By the time we reached I-35, he was pleased and said as much. He was a bit more relaxed after that, and that was a relief to Ryan and I, as it was cooking our gooses to ride at Troy's infernal pace.

Things were slower paced after that and fairly uneventful. Things got a wee bit tense going through Fort Dodge, Iowa due to traffic and route finding. The crossing of the Des Moines River was a doozy! That climb out of the river valley had me off the bike and walking in the heat.

Due to the extra time getting through Fort Dodge, we didn't feel too great about the afternoon's mileage. Troy pounded out a furious pace as we set off for a little town west of there called Barnum. It was blazing hot and we were roasting in the late afternoon sunlight. Troy thought about bypassing Barnum because it was off the highway a bit, but he relented and we got to pack it in for the day. It was great to have the thoughts of sleep and rest that would come none too soon!

Well, at least I thought it would come. We had done 120 miles that day, and I figured after some chow, we would get some quick sleep. Not too fast there, partner! It was not quite that way! First, the park we were in was about the size of someones small back yard. We didn't have any facilities, and the heat was oppressive! No wind, humid, and mosquitoes were everywhere! We thought we'd just set up our sleeping bags on the picnic tables, but the insects wouldn't allow it. They were eating us alive!

So, we all had to get up and set up the tent in the dark. The thoughts of sleeping in that tent were not good, as it was so still and hot yet. Any enclosure would only make it worse. But those mosquitoes!

So we got a fitful nights sleep from Day #1. Hopefully we could pull off another big day. Tuesday was going to be a bit tougher though.............

Next Week: Day Two- Hamburgers and Heat

Trans Iowa V5: Post Race

<===Joe Meiser hoists the trophy after his impressive win at T.I.V5


Well, it is done now. T.I.V.5 is in the books and done with. In a word, the event was fantastic. David Pals and I are just pleased beyond words with how things went this year. It was how you would want an event to go if you could have your wishes. Just unbelievable really.





I am still decompressing from it all. I can't quite put the event into perspective just yet. There will be a recap coming in which I will detail out all the highlights of T.I.V5. That will most likely be starting Wednesday. Until that time, here are some brief post event thoughts from my sleep deprived brain..............

First, a HUGE thanks to David Pals and the volunteers, without whom this event would go from suck to blow! No, seriously. You guys are sooooo appreciated! Words can not express.

-Joe Meiser: You are awesome dude. What a motor.

-Dave Praman: Man! Hearing your comment at the finish line was unbelievable. You were amazing, and the ride you put in was epic.

-Tim Ek: Again, you made a huge effort, and it payed off! "Never stop-Never quit" Indeed!

-To Charlie Farrow: Dude! Your race alone would make Trans Iowa super special this year. I hope you take the time to detail out for all to see how perseverance looks.

-To Ben Shockey: Fixed! You are a hammer!

-To Paul Jacobsen: Don't shrug it off as "just people talkin'" You really deserve all of what folks were saying, and will say about your ride.

-To all the finishers. My hearty congratulations.

-To everyone that toed the line: Respect!

-Thanks for all the kind words and gifts everyone. They are appreciated more than you all know.

Stay tuned for more pics and words on T.I.V5 soon...........

Trans Iowa V5: Post Race

<===Joe Meiser hoists the trophy after his impressive win at T.I.V5


Well, it is done now. T.I.V.5 is in the books and done with. In a word, the event was fantastic. David Pals and I are just pleased beyond words with how things went this year. It was how you would want an event to go if you could have your wishes. Just unbelievable really.





I am still decompressing from it all. I can't quite put the event into perspective just yet. There will be a recap coming in which I will detail out all the highlights of T.I.V5. That will most likely be starting Wednesday. Until that time, here are some brief post event thoughts from my sleep deprived brain..............

First, a HUGE thanks to David Pals and the volunteers, without whom this event would go from suck to blow! No, seriously. You guys are sooooo appreciated! Words can not express.

-Joe Meiser: You are awesome dude. What a motor.

-Dave Praman: Man! Hearing your comment at the finish line was unbelievable. You were amazing, and the ride you put in was epic.

-Tim Ek: Again, you made a huge effort, and it payed off! "Never stop-Never quit" Indeed!

-To Charlie Farrow: Dude! Your race alone would make Trans Iowa super special this year. I hope you take the time to detail out for all to see how perseverance looks.

-To Ben Shockey: Fixed! You are a hammer!

-To Paul Jacobsen: Don't shrug it off as "just people talkin'" You really deserve all of what folks were saying, and will say about your ride.

-To all the finishers. My hearty congratulations.

-To everyone that toed the line: Respect!

-Thanks for all the kind words and gifts everyone. They are appreciated more than you all know.

Stay tuned for more pics and words on T.I.V5 soon...........

Trans Iowa Radio V5

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One More Before I Go, Please.

I wasn't going to post, and then I thought I'd squeeze in one non-T.I. related post. But who am I kidding?

Crap......here I go!

On the eve of kicking off the fifth one, I have many mixed thoughts. In no particular order....

This is where I think I'm stupid, crazy, and totally loony for doing this. I know what I'm looking at: Friday- running around picking up some last minute supplies, heading out to look at a few roads, meeting up with some of the crew and prepping for the pre-race. Do pre-race, head back for a few fitful hours of sleep, (and I do mean a few- if any) and then it's time to run T.I.V5. I figure it'll be in the neighborhood of 30 plus hours of being awake with maybe a few hours of sleep, then back at it until I get home Sunday night. Worst case scenario- no sleep for 40 plus hours.

Crazy? Do you need to even ask?

How much longer? I figure the someday I will stop doing this gig is closer than the day I started. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't really think so.....right now!

The roster shrinkage is interesting this year. Funny how the vast majority of folks left are former T.I. vets. Does that say anything? Dunno myself, just sayin' that's what I see.

Weather: Boy.....could it be much better? If the roads weren't muddy in spots, this would be on par with T.I.V3. But I don't think the roads will be quite the same as those were.....

People: Once again, the people that are involved are amazing. Honestly, it is the reward I get for doing all the work and preparations. Example: I got a phone call at work Thursday morning. The caller is in this years T.I. He says, "I just wanted to call now and tell you thanks. This is going to be awesome!..." That's gold right there. And I know a lot more of you will say similar things. I am humbled......

I can't wait to get to the other side of this. Really, I don't care for all the hullabaloo that comes with the position I find myself in. Maybe this will explain. My favorite T.I. memories are always from the middle of Saturday night/Sunday morning. When it is all quiet and peaceful. When the stars twinkle, and I am alone with my thoughts. There's something really cool about being "up all night" that I have relished since childhood. Trans Iowa is a great excuse for me being up all night now. A much better one than I had back in my 20's, that's for sure!

Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this coming Trans Iowa. I hope that the stories are epic, and no one gets seriously hurt. I hope everyone makes it back home safely and has a great story to tell for years to come.

And if you can't be here, ride your bike. Ride it and have a blast doing it.

See ya on the other side!

One More Before I Go, Please.

I wasn't going to post, and then I thought I'd squeeze in one non-T.I. related post. But who am I kidding?

Crap......here I go!

On the eve of kicking off the fifth one, I have many mixed thoughts. In no particular order....

This is where I think I'm stupid, crazy, and totally loony for doing this. I know what I'm looking at: Friday- running around picking up some last minute supplies, heading out to look at a few roads, meeting up with some of the crew and prepping for the pre-race. Do pre-race, head back for a few fitful hours of sleep, (and I do mean a few- if any) and then it's time to run T.I.V5. I figure it'll be in the neighborhood of 30 plus hours of being awake with maybe a few hours of sleep, then back at it until I get home Sunday night. Worst case scenario- no sleep for 40 plus hours.

Crazy? Do you need to even ask?

How much longer? I figure the someday I will stop doing this gig is closer than the day I started. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't really think so.....right now!

The roster shrinkage is interesting this year. Funny how the vast majority of folks left are former T.I. vets. Does that say anything? Dunno myself, just sayin' that's what I see.

Weather: Boy.....could it be much better? If the roads weren't muddy in spots, this would be on par with T.I.V3. But I don't think the roads will be quite the same as those were.....

People: Once again, the people that are involved are amazing. Honestly, it is the reward I get for doing all the work and preparations. Example: I got a phone call at work Thursday morning. The caller is in this years T.I. He says, "I just wanted to call now and tell you thanks. This is going to be awesome!..." That's gold right there. And I know a lot more of you will say similar things. I am humbled......

I can't wait to get to the other side of this. Really, I don't care for all the hullabaloo that comes with the position I find myself in. Maybe this will explain. My favorite T.I. memories are always from the middle of Saturday night/Sunday morning. When it is all quiet and peaceful. When the stars twinkle, and I am alone with my thoughts. There's something really cool about being "up all night" that I have relished since childhood. Trans Iowa is a great excuse for me being up all night now. A much better one than I had back in my 20's, that's for sure!

Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this coming Trans Iowa. I hope that the stories are epic, and no one gets seriously hurt. I hope everyone makes it back home safely and has a great story to tell for years to come.

And if you can't be here, ride your bike. Ride it and have a blast doing it.

See ya on the other side!